Western Springs approves backyard chickens

Residents will be allowed to keep up to 4 birds

Residents in Western Springs will be allowed to have up to four backyard chickens under an ordinance amendment approved this week by the Village Board.

Trustee Edward Tymick said one family had sought last year to keep chickens. The village conducted a one-year trial with the family to see if the birds caused any complaints among neighbors.

"We monitored it to see how it went," Tymick said, adding that only one neighbor expressed a concern about noise.

The amended ordinance also provides specifications for chicken coops and requires that the birds be kept in the covered outside enclosures or in a house or garage when unattended. No roosters will be allowed.

Slaughtering of any poultry will not be allowed outdoors on residential lots, according to the ordinance. Residents will have to apply for a permit to keep the birds and undergo periodic reviews of their chicken coops.